What if I don’t need my airline miles?

What to do with extra miles

Many applicants sign up for travel reward cards with the best intentions of using the points they earn for travel. But in some cases, the credit card travel miles build up so much that the account holder realizes they will probably never get used entirely.

If you find that you have an abundance of reward points that are about to expire, or you simply don’t think you will ever use for travel, then you may have some alternatives that are offered by the credit card company.

Some reward card programs allow you to switch your point redemption to where you can receive a cash-back bonus for your points instead of applying them toward airline tickets. Other companies actually give you the option of donating your accumulated reward points to a charity so they can be put to good use instead of sitting in your account unused.

Not every reward program offers these options, so if you aren’t sure then contact your lender and ask about the different options for your unused credit card travel miles. If these options are available, however, you should look into them because it is far better to put your rewards to work instead of letting them expire or go unused.